1 question
Dear Migros There is still no legal obligation to declare field beans and their ingredients. However, the proportion of the population affected by favism is increasing rapidly. Because, in contrast to an allergy, the symptoms only appear after a delay (24-48 hours), the connection with the products consumed can only rarely be established. Many people confuse the symptoms, if they are "mild", with severe food poisoning. If the symptoms are severe, ingestion of the product can be life-threatening. There is no study in Switzerland on the epidemiology of G6PD deficiency. In France, a representative survey has shown that only 0.014% of the population know that they are affected by G6PD deficiency. However, since at least 0.5% and, depending on the study, up to 3, 4 or even 5% of the population is affected, the sale of products containing field beans and components thereof can only be qualified as negligent. In an earlier answer from the M-Infoline, it was claimed that field beans are widely used in the Swiss diet. This statement is absurd, as Migros itself only sells 3-4 products that contain this ingredient in the declaration. Companies such as the airline catering company Gate Gourmet have voluntarily refrained from using field beans in aircraft catering for decades for safety reasons. Questions: 1. Is Migros aware that affected consumers generally have no way of knowing that this product can be life-threatening or harmful? 2. has Migros considered voluntarily avoiding field beans? 3. is Migros following current efforts to ban field beans in European food legislation or to make them subject to mandatory declaration? If so, has an anticipated renunciation of the use of field beans been considered? 4. is there currently an incentive that promotes the production of field beans? Has consideration been given to stopping such incentives as a precautionary measure (see point 3)? Kind regards Chris
Hello chrisleduc, thank you for your renewed question about field beans. We understand that, based on the research you have done, you would like it to be labeled as an allergen. As already stated, we adhere to the requirements of the Foodstuffs Act. From a food law perspective, field beans are not one of the most common allergens. We cannot act on our own authority here, because then our declaration would no longer comply with the legislation. If the legal situation changes, we will of course make the necessary adjustments. We would also like to point out that we clearly state the ingredients on all our products. This means that anyone who suffers from an allergy has the opportunity to read through the ingredients and check whether they correspond to the diet that they must follow. We also do not consider it sensible to advertise an ingredient as "potentially allergenic" for people who do not know that they react to this ingredient. People without known allergies would most likely pay little or no attention to the ingredients. We highly recommend that you contact bodies such as the BLV with your concerns. Best regards, your M-Infoline team
Log in and get involved!
Why? You can only test, rate and make Migros even better if you're logged in.